European Kingdoms

Germanic Tribes

Cherusci
(Germans)

The Cherusci were a Germanic
people who lived in areas of the northern Rhine valley, extending eastwards
into the forests of north-western Germany. They may have been named after
the hart, or deer, *herut in ancient Germanic. Established in the
Rhine valley from as early as the first century BC to at least the third
century AD, their name may not be Germanic, perhaps instead being used by
their enemies or neighbours to describe them. They were mentioned as a
tribe of the Germani by Julius Caesar in 53 BC, where he distinguished
them from the Suevi, and were
subjugated by Rome in 12 BC.

The construction 'Ger-man' breaks down into 'ger' (still used in English as
'gar', the name of a fish) meaning spear, and 'man' which is unchanged in
meaning. 'Her-man' is another form of the word. It was likely to have been
formed of 'ger' for a spear and 'ker' for an army of spearmen, for which 'k'
was softened to an 'h'. Some sources suggest quite wrongly that Germani
means 'neighbour' or 'men of the forest'. Instead, the possessors of this
name were tough, fierce killers and would not have named themselves anything quite
so friendly. The Romans introduced Germani because they consistently
heard both forms from the Germans themselves: 'herman' as in
Hermunduri,
and 'german', because these warriors called themselves just that: spearmen.
The Heruli and Cherusci
names may also derive from or contain this root word for spear, meaning
an army (of spears).

The Germanic Cherusci
encounter Rome
for the first time, in the form of Julius Caesar, and are already
established in their northern Rhine Valley homeland. Caesar identifies them
separately from the
Suevi when crossing the Rhine
to punish the latter for aiding Gallic tribes. He states that the Bacenis
forest divides them from the Suevi.

12 - 9 BC

The Cherusci are subjugated by
Rome,
along with some of their neighbours in the first of four campaigns let by
Nero Drusus, stepson of the emperor, who is appointed governor of the Rhine
region of Gaul. After building a fortress on the island of the
Batavi, he
undertakes some difficult fighting in which he is generally
successful, subduing numerous tribes. He progresses as far as the River
Elbe, where he builds boats and sails to the North Sea. He is killed in a
fall from his horse during the fourth campaign in 9 BC.

Sigimer

fl AD 8 - 21

Arminius / Erminaz / Hermann

King of the Cherusci. The original 'Herman the German'.

Segestes

Cherusci noble and rival contender for power. King in AD
21.

AD 9

Arminius (known as Herman Siegfried to modern Germans) declares the independence
of the Cherusci from Rome with his decimation of three legions under
Roman Governor Publius Quinctilius
Varus. He achieves this momentous victory in an alliance with the
Bructeri,
Chatti,
Chauci,
Marsi,
and Sicambri (a coalition that is sometimes, rather ridiculously, termed the
Armenian empire).
The Tencteri and
Usipetes
are also highly likely to be involved, as are the
Dulgubnii,
subjects of the Cherusci. The Bructeri,
Tubantes and
Usipetes certainly team
up to harass the troops of Germanicus AD 14, and they are later included
in his triumph. Segestes, whose daughter Arminius had married against his
wishes, bears Arminius a lifelong grudge and this now flares up into open
division.

The decimation of three legions in the Teutoberger wald was a
massive humiliation for the Roman empire and caused the
abandonment of plans to conquer Germania Magna

14 - 15

Germanicus invades northern Germany with Segestes as an ally, and they
start with the massacre of the
Marsi. This enrages the
Germanic tribes and
Arminius' confederation is reformed willingly. After Roman forces (and
Batavi
allies) relieve Segestes from a siege which is being conducted by Arminius,
Segestes hands over his pregnant daughter and she is taken to
Rome where her son is
born (he later trains as a gladiator and dies in combat before he reaches
the age of twenty).

16

The Cherusci suffer two defeats in this period, the first being at
Idistaviso and then at the Battle of the Angrivarian Walls in the
summer. Arminius doubtless finds his authority has been damaged by
the second defeat, at least.

17 - 19

War breaks out between Arminius and Maroboduus of the
Marcomanni. The
cause is Maroboduus' decision not to join the
Cherusci-Roman war
of AD 9 in common cause with his fellow Germans. Now the Cherusci join
with some of Maroboduus' own
Suevi subjects, the
Langobards and the
Semnones, to stage
a revolt against his power. Following an indecisive battle, Maroboduus
withdraws into territory that later forms
Bohemia by AD 18. He is
overthrown by one of his own nobles the following year.

21

Segestes and members of the royal family murder Arminius, destroying Cherusci cohesion and allowing the
Romans to
appoint a client king. Following his appointment, Rome largely leaves the Cherusci
to their own devices.

A request is sent to
Rome
asking that Italicus be sent to serve as king, after the nobility of the
Cherusci has been destroyed by internal conflict. Whether or not Segestes is
killed before this point is entirely unknown. The new, Roman-educated prince
soon falls out of favour with his people and they attempt to expel him. The
Langobards,
previously a minor tribe under the dominance of the once-mighty Cherusci and
Marcomanni,
now appear on the scene with enough authority and strength to impose the
restoration of Italicus.

Cherusci numbers and fighting ability have been dented through unsuccessful
warfare against the
Chatti. This point signals their eclipse and eventual absorption by
other tribes.

117 - 138

Emperor Hadrian spends much of his career consolidating the
Roman
empire and securing its borders. This includes the building of limes,
or defensive works, along the Rhine to keep out possible future
Germanic
incursions, although it is probably Hadrian's successor, Antoninus, who
completes much of this work.

3rd century

The GermanicFranks
are first documented during this century (the Period of Migration), when they
are to be found occupying territory on the Lower Rhine valley (on the east
bank, in what is now northern
Belgium and the southern
Netherlands).
They are one of several West Germanic federations, and are formed of
elements of the
Ampsivarii,
Batavi,
Bructeri,
Chamavi,
Chatti,
Chattuarii,
Cherusci,
Salii,
Sicambri,
Tencteri,
Tubantes, and
Usipetes. Most of these
peoples live along the Rhine's northern borders in what is becoming known
as Francia. The fortunes of all of these tribes are now tied to the greater
Frankish collective. Elements of the Cherusci and their subjects, including
the Dulgubnii,
are also in the process of being absorbed into the
Saxon
tribal confederation. They disappear from history as an identifiable
people.